Given the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, many are asking why people would be hesitant to be vaccinated against it. That’s the question that bounces around the skulls of countless physicians, public health experts, journalists, poli…
Category: COVID-19 / coronavirus
COVID’s lab leak theory obscures zoonosis and progression
Even as COVID-19 is found in apes, big cats, minks, domestic cats, other small mammals, and now in U.S. deer, some don’t want to let go of the insultingly simplistic “lab leak” theory. Do they really think the 1918 influenza and AIDS pandemics (or Ebol…
Dying after leaving AMA
The nurse called: “The patient wants to leave AMA.” These calls come, fortunately not often. Typically the patient is not terribly ill, but they really miss their cigarettes or alcohol. Spending another day or two in the hospital would be wise, but lea…
Try this new technique when talking to vaccine skeptics
“Trust and confidence in any product — and here the vaccine is the product — starts with confidence in the process and safety.” -Payam N., Vaccine Outreach Supervisor While training over 1,800 vaccine outreach workers enrolled in the UCSF P…
Try this new technique when talking to vaccine skeptics
“Trust and confidence in any product — and here the vaccine is the product — starts with confidence in the process and safety.” -Payam N., Vaccine Outreach Supervisor While training over 1,800 vaccine outreach workers enrolled in the UCSF P…
How to convince your health care colleagues to get vaccinated [PODCAST]
“When a colleague in health care mentioned hesitation to get the COVID-19 vaccine in two separate instances, I was shocked and dismayed. If we recommend vaccination to our patients, how can we not take the same precautions for ourselves? With COV…
This light is theirs alone
Our memories are tricky. Whether we inflate experiences in recollection or allow their wonder to slip back among the ordinary depends on our perspectives at the time between present and past. The trouble is that we are no good at knowing in which direc…
How to get young patients vaccinated against COVID-19
Vaccinations have long been a routine part of practice in late summer and early fall for pediatricians and family physicians. Back to school brings enrollment vaccination requirements and sports physicals, as well as the opportunity to bring young pati…
A view from Canada: In defense of vaccine passports
The Quebec government recently announced plans for a vaccine passport system, which, in the event of a fourth wave of COVID-19, will bar people who are not fully vaccinated from entering indoor settings such as bars, restaurants, gyms, and entertainmen…
Family principles of COVID-19 heroes
As we sat at home watching our physician colleagues on the news draped with masks and PPE calmly explaining their dire situations last year, one cannot help but wonder what kind of environment and community cultivated these heroes. Were their commonali…
